The Blues will be out for revenge when they take on the Stormers in what promises to be an exciting showdown at Newlands on Saturday.
The Stormers have dominated this fixture in recent seasons and won five of their last six games against the Blues, with their sole loss in that time coming by a margin of just one point in 2013.
The home side are on a three-match losing streak after suffering defeats to the Waratahs, Crusaders and Highlanders but have won nine of their last 10 regular-season home games, only losing to fellow South African side the Lions in that time.
The Blues meanwhile are on a high after claiming their first win of the season in dramatic fashion against the Lions (38-35) last weekend will be looking for a second win in South Africa in a single season for the first time since 2008, when they picked up big wins against the Lions (55-10) and Cheetahs (50-26).
Blues head coach Tana Umaga said the side is well motivated and determined to build on that winning effort against the Lions.
"We are naturally pleased with the result and with many aspects of our performance last week, but we also realize that we must continue to improve every week," he explained.
"The Stormers have had the wood on us in recent years and we need to work very hard this week to prepare for what will be another tough encounter here in South Africa.
"There were many parts of our game that were pleasing last week but we gave away two tries and did not cherish our possession enough.
"We can’t afford to give the Stormers the same opportunities that we gave the Lions, but at the same time we want to play with the same level of commitment, aggression and belief."
The last time these teams met: The Stormers wiped out a nine-point deficit to beat the Blues 30-22 in Round 13 at Newlands last year. The Blues held a slight edge for most of the match but the game's complexion changed during its latter stages when the Blues finished the match with 14 players after Matt Duffie received his second yellow card in the 67th minute.
Both sides eventually scored three tries apiece with Siya Kolisi, Dillyn Leyds and Sikhumbuzo Notshe dotting down for the Stormers and the Blues' tries were scored by George Moala, James Parsons and Blake Gibson. SP Marais also kicked three penalties and three conversions for the Stormers and the Blues' other points came via two conversions from Piers Francis and a penalty from Bryn Gatland.
Players to watch:
For Stormers: Springbok wing Raymond Rhule has been a real enigma since joining the Cape Town-based franchise from the Cheetahs. It's fair to say that the jury is still out on the 25-year-old amongst Stormers supporters as he has delivered a mixed bag of performances in his four previous Super Rugby outings in 2018. Rhule has done well on attack and is amongst the tournament's leading performers for clean breaks, metres gained and offloads. He has struggled on defence, however, and often misses crucial tackles which will make him a target for the Blues' runners out wide.
For Blues: Keep an eye on Akira Ioane, who has been leading the way with several outstanding performances for the men from Auckland since the start of the tournament. The powerful number eight has been brilliant on attack and constantly gets his team over the advantage line with his barnstorming runs. This has resulted in him scoring four tries from the Blues' three previous matches which puts him in joint top spot on the competition's try-scoring charts.
Team news: Outside back Craig Barry is in line to make his Stormers debut when they take on the Blues in Cape Town. The 25-year-old recently returned to the Stormers squad after spending some time on loan with the Cheetahs and could feature against the Auckland side if he comes off the replacements bench in this Super Rugby encounter.
Several players and members of the Stormers management team have been struck down with a serious flu virus this week and as a result the team may change on matchday depending on how they progress. In the backline, Dillyn Leyds moves to full-back in place of the injured SP Marais and JJ Engelbrecht starts on the wing, with Barry providing cover.
The only change to the pack at this stage sees Pieter-Steph du Toit return to play at blindside flank and a fit-again Cobus Wiese among the replacements after Kobus van Dyk was ruled out due to illness.
Meanwhile, there is only one injury-forced change to the Blues starting XV for this fixture. Prop Alex Hodgman has been ruled out with an arm injury which forced his early departure in the win against the Lions last weekend, with his replacement Pauliasi Manu to start against the Stormers.
The rest of the starting side is the same as the Blues line-up that edged the Lions 38-35 on full-time at Johannesburg last weekend. Manu, one of the standout performers last week, will play his 20th and blazer game for the Blues to go with his 49 Super Rugby caps for the Chiefs.
There is a change to a more conventional 5-3 split in the reserves this week, after coach Tana Umaga opted for six forwards on the bench for the game at altitude last weekend. This allows for the hard-running midfielder George Moala to make an impact off the bench.
Form: The Stormers were made to work hard before securing a 28-20 victory over the Jaguares in their season opener in Cape Town. They then headed on their overseas tour where they suffered a last-gasp 34-27 loss to the Waratahs in Sydney and also lost to the Crusaders (45-28) in Christchurch and the Highlanders (33-15) in Dunedin.
The Blues have played three matches so far and last weekend's 38-35 victory over the Lions in Johannesburg was their first win of the season. Prior to that, the Highlanders beat them 41-34 in Dunedin before they suffered a 27-21 defeat to the Chiefs in Auckland.
Prediction: The Blues will be brimming with confidence after their win over the Lions and that, coupled with the Stormers' illness issues, gives them the edge. Blues to win by seven points!
Previous results:
2017: Stormers won 30-22 in Cape Town
2015: Stormers won 27-16 in Cape Town
2013: Blues won 18-17 in Auckland
2012: Stormers won 27-17 in Cape Town
2011: Stormers won 28-26 in Auckland
2010: Stormers won 33-21 in Auckland
2009: Blues won 14-8 in Cape Town
2008: Blues won 17-14 in Auckland
2007: Stormers won 33-20 in Cape Town
The teams:
Stormers: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 JJ Engelbrecht, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Damian De Allende, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Dean Muir, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 22 Justin Phillips, 23 Craig Barry
Blues: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Matt Duffie, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Bryn Gatland, 9 Sam Nock, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Antonio Kiri Kiri, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Ofa Tuungafasi, 2 James Parsons (c), 1 Pauliasi Manu
Replacements: 16 Leni Apisai, 17 Ross Wright/Sione Mafileo, 18 Mike Tamoaieta, 19 Jimmy Tupou, 20 Murphy Taramai, 21 Jonathan Ruru, 22 Stephen Perofeta, 23 George Moala
Date: Saturday, March 17
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15:05 local (13:05 GMT)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Christie du Preez (South Africa)
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